Beyond Jokha al-Harthi: Women Writers from the Gulf

When Jokha al-Harthi and Marilyn Booth won the Man Booker International Prize last year, for Booth’s translation of Sayyidat al-Qamr (Celestial Bodies), many hurried to note that al-Harthi was the “first Omani woman writer” to have a book in English translation.While true, this may give the mistaken impression that there is something new about women's writing from the Gulf. But women on the peninsula have been composing sophisticated literature for centuries. Al-Khansa (575-645 AD), who was born and died on the Arabian Peninsula, is said to have been told by an admiring male writer that she was “the greatest poet among those with breasts.” Al-Khansa is said to have replied, archly: “I am the greatest poet among those with testicles, too.” Her work can be read, in vibrant translation, in James Montgomery’s Loss Sings.Prominent poet-filmmaker Nujoom Ghanem, in a 2016 interview that focused on her literary ancestors, had a similar barb: “The majority of poets in our world are male, but quantity does not make quality.” Yet among the younger generation of writers, women often dominate. In Yemen, the UAE, Kuwait, and elsewhere, emerging women writers have been flooding into writing workshops and literary seminars. Each Gulf country could have its own list of 10 women writers. Here are just a few to seek out:Raja Alem (Saudi) – Alem was the first woman to co-win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), for her classic Mecca novel The Doves’ Necklace (translated by Adam... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2020-02-19 10:26:57 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Beyond Jokha al-Harthi: Women Writers from the Gulf"


The Prophet of Nothingness

With Harrow, her first novel in two decades, Joy Williams stares into the abyss. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2021-09-12 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Mendelson returns with two-book Mantle deal

Mantle has landed The Exhibitionist, Charlotte Mendelson's first novel since her 2013 Booker-longlisted work Almost English (Mantle). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-07 21:02:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Review: Joy Williams' first novel in decades is an astonishing end-times parable

From the acclaimed author of novels and short stories, 'Harrow' is a magnificent, moving story about people picking up the pieces of apocalypse. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-09-07 13:00:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


He fought in the Marines and MMA matches. A novel about his mother was the fight of his life

Atticus Lish was acclaimed for his first novel 'Preparation for the Next Life.' His second, 'The War for Gloria,' is more raw, painful and personal. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-09-02 13:00:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Aaliya’s Books Closes Amid Beirut’s Economic and Political Crisis

Aaliya's Books, a much-loved Beirut bookstore named for a character in a Rabih Alameddine novel, has lost the battle to stay open—for now. The post Aaliya’s Books Closes Amid Beirut’s Economic and Political Crisis appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-09-02 09:25:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Yiyun Li on “Decanting” War and Peace

Founded in October 2009 by Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore is an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Combining the best traditions of the neighborhood bookstore with carefully curated, community-minded events, Greenlight has earned a reputation as a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-02 08:53:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Puffin lands 'heart-warming' tale of family with two mums by Jeffs and Davey

Puffin has landed a "heart-warming" picture book about a family with two mums, written by Lotte Jeffs and illustrated by Sharon Davey. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-25 21:13:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Want to be a bookseller? This chicken-coop-turned-bookstore is up for grabs.

Big news for booksellers, or even aspiring booksellers: The Times Union has reported that Owl Pen Books, a bookstore nestled in the hills of Washington County, is for sale, along with its 40,000 titles. As perhaps hinted by its location, it’s not just any bookstore: it’s a remodeled hog pen and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-08-20 17:01:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Of Roots and Reckonings: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’s Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois, by Adele Newson-Horst

Book Reviews   The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Photo by Steven Taylor / Flickr The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’s first novel, is textually connected to the works of Harriet Jacobs, Zora Neale Hurston,... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-08-18 20:12:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Isla Fisher to publish picture book series with Welbeck Flame

Welbeck Flame has acquired three picture books written by actress and comedian Isla Fisher and illustrated by Paula Bowles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-18 08:23:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The picture book fighting back against Russia’s LGBT+ propaganda law

A story for children about families with same-sex parents has been published in Russia as part of a campaign to have the country’s ‘gay propaganda’ law repealedA month after a Hungarian bookshop chain was fined for selling a children’s story about a day in the life of a child with same-sex... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-08-17 14:33:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Greenlight Bookstores in Brooklyn Unionize

A total of 39 employees at two locations of Greenlight Bookstore and one location of Yours Truly, Brooklyn, a stationery store, all located in Brooklyn, N.Y., have voted to join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Soaring June Sales Boost 2021 First Half Bookstore Sales

Bookstore sales skyrocketed 811% in June over a year ago, and finished the first half of 2021 with a 30% increase over the first six months of 2020. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Industry Notes: Guadalajara Publishers and Bookstore Honors in Barcelona

Industry Notes: In Mexico, seven independent publishers form an alliance, and Spain's Liber program honors the 100-year-old Balmes bookstore. The post Industry Notes: Guadalajara Publishers and Bookstore Honors in Barcelona appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-08-13 20:06:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Dolly Parton to publish her first novel in 2022

The country music superstar has teamed up with the novelist James Patterson to write Run, Rose, Run, which will be published in MarchFirst globally successful entertainer, then heroic sponsor of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine, and now novelist … Dolly Parton seems determined to prove that there... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-08-11 16:27:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this


10 Bookstore Romances To Get Lost In

How do you make a book about bookstores even better? With a little romance, of course! Prepare to swoon over these bookstore romances, including Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-08-11 10:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Jeffers book delayed after Suez Canal blockage

The latest picture book from illustrator Oliver Jeffers will hit bookshops later than planned this year because hardbacks are still at sea after the "Ever Given" ship became lodged in the Suez Canal in March. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-09 14:36:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Nach Waxman, Founder of a Bookstore Where Foodies Flock, Dies at 84

A “kitchen anthropologist,” he created a mecca in Manhattan for chefs, writers, scholars, everyday cooks and anyone else who is, well, hungry for culinary knowledge. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-08-08 00:23:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Scheffler and Wittkamp's 'hilarious' cat collection heads to MCB

Macmillan Children’s Books has acquired a new picture book from illustrator Axel Scheffler and author Franz Wittkamp, a collection of quirky rhymes about cats for pre-schoolers and their families. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-07 03:42:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this


5 Ways Working at a Used Bookstore Changed Me Forever

After working a used bookstore for many years, I picked up some strange habits that I just can't seem to shake. Here are 5 of them. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-08-06 10:33:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this